Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
Reform is needed  
Sen. Claire McCaskill doubles down on her opposition to government contractor disclosure in this op-ed in the Post-Dispatch. She should've mentioned her support for Fair Elections.

Judge again rules ban on corporate campaign donations unconstitutional
A judge in Virginia sticks by his belief that a rule on direct corporate contributions to candidates is unconstitutional.
-  Rick Hasen isn't buying it: http://electionlawblog.org/?p=18851

Target pressured to refrain from political donations
Common Cause, Steelworkers Union, and the Delta Foundation are gearing up for protests outside the Target shareholder meeting in Pittsburgh about their political contributions.

Congress/2012
Huntsman to hold DC fundraiser
Likely Republican Presidential candidate Jon Huntsman is holding a fundraiser next week in DC.

Larry Bucshon's field hearing features donor witnesses
Freshman Rep. Larry Bucshon held a field hearing in his district on the impacts of health care reform. Three of the witnesses have ties to his 2010 campaign donors. Shocking right?

Evan "Revolving Door" Bayh signs on with US Chamber
And Evan Bayh, who says he was looking forward to helping people in his post-Senate career, has signed on with the U.S. Chamber.

Chamber's Donohue to Obama: Expand oil drilling
The Chamber is now calling for expanding oil drilling. I wonder how much the Chamber charged the big oil companies for the letter.

Tobacco companies adjusting strategies to remain prominent political players
Interesting piece from CRP on the tobacco industry's political influence. Their spending--on lobbying and campaign contributions--has fallen, but does Citizens United mean they can put that money elsewhere to hide it?

Consumers stuck in middle as Senate sets showdown vote over limiting debit card fees
The fight over swipe fees is really a fight between two big interests--retailers and banks, with consumers probably not seeing any change either way.

Lummis gets campaign cash from Wyo. fund managers
"U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis received more than $31,000 in campaign contributions from financial executives managing Wyoming investments in a program she championed as state treasurer, federal campaign records show."

GOP targets tanning tax
A cookie goes to anyone that finds campaign cash from tanning bed companies to these cosponsors of legislation to end the 10 percent tax on tanning beds included in health care reform.

GOP freshmen spend big bucks on office budgets
Some freshmen Republicans are doling out big cash from their offices, showing that they may already be turning into the Washington they criticized on the campaign trail.

Other
Complaints filed against 3 state senators
From Wisconsin: "Complaints have been filed over the campaign finance reports of three state Senators targeted for recalls."

As ethics measure emerges, so do questions about its teeth
More on the new ethics plan in NY

And the Sunlight Foundation has launched a new tool, Inbox Influence, that'll scan your gmail messages and tell you about the money behind the people and companies!
https://inbox.influenceexplorer.com/